Travel Reference
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Because of the poor quality of the road, I proceeded at a cautiously slow pace for
safety and didn't stop until 12:15 p.m. for lunch. In hindsight, one of my biggest mistakes
was that I didn't rest long enough during my lunch-break for as soon as I finished eating,
I resumed cycling. At first, I didn't realize that I was getting over-stressed until I caught
myself swearing out loud at a passing insect. After that point, I decided to take two-minute
breaks frequently. I just stopped cycling regardless if I was climbing, descending or on a
flat patch of road. This helped me to physically and mentally recharge myself.
Even though my pace was slow, I still managed to fall off the bike and to painfully
bruise the palm side of my right thumb. This made gripping the handlebars difficult and
since the dirt road had huge stretches of perpendicular ripples, my thumb was getting
banged around. Needless to say, it made cycling very unpleasant.
I added to my woes about 14 kilometres from Mamfé when my chain broke. Even
though my right thumb was throbbing, I repaired it rather quickly and thankfully I didn't
have an issue with the chain for the rest of the day. Once I arrived in Mamfé, I came upon
a Catholic Church and waited for the priest to see if I could set up my tent. When Father
Charles arrived, he told me to forget about the tent and gave me a room instead. Shortly
after, he called me to dine with him.
I woke up at 5:50 a.m. the next morning and quickly got changed to go to mass.
Upon my return to my room, I prepared the bike for the day's adventure. Before leaving,
Father Charles insisted that I have breakfast which I gladly accepted. I thanked him for his
hospitality and gave him my little Canadian present.
My intention for the day was to arrive in Fontem. I first needed to take the road
southtowardKumbaandthenheadeast.MyMichelinmapindicatedthattheturnoffforthe
roadtoFontemwasabout18kilometrestothesouth.However,IbecameconcernedwhenI
couldn'tfindit.AsIkeptcyclingandlookingfortheturnoff,Imentallyretracedtheearlier
part of the route but didn't recall any side-roads. I continued with some trepidation until I
finally reached an obvious turnoff with fruit stands at the junction. A nearby road marker
indicatedthatIhadcycled52kilometres(not18km)fromMamfé.Idoubled-checkedwith
the locals and all was good. The road to my left was indeed the one to Fontem. I rested
there for lunch and chatted with a fruit stand's drunken proprietor. Remembering the pre-
vious day's lunch-time mistake, I rested for almost an hour with my inebriated friend and
then repacked what I didn't eat. I was about to embark on a road that I would never forget.
Therewasaninitial dropinelevation andthenamanageable climb toabridge.The
condition of the road was great only for a very short period. Suddenly I was in rock hell.
Thegradients ofboththeascents anddescents werethesteepest Ihaveeverseen.Infact,it
seemed that the road was at one time a cascading waterfall that went dry. I was concentrat-
ingsointentlyontheroadjustinfrontofmytirethatIbarelynoticedthatIwassurrounded
by dense vegetation and a symphony of bird calls.
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